1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shock-absorbable briefcase, and more particularly to a briefcase having shock-absorbing function, which can sequentially absorb and/or alleviate an impact force applied to it thereby to effectively protect an article received therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a briefcase is utilized to display its role of general receiving function for receiving and holding various articles. In case that the briefcase accommodates a costly article such as notebook computer, specific shock-absorbing means capable of protecting the article from shock must be provided to the briefcase.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a perspective view of a briefcase having shock-absorbing function of the related art, and FIG. 2 illustrates a partially cut-away perspective view showing an independent appearance of a shock-absorbing air pad used in the briefcase of FIG. 1. A briefcase having shock-absorbing function of the related art includes a body 1 for receiving and holding an article 7, and a cover 2 pivotally connected to the body 1 for preventing the article 7 received in the body 1 from being released. The body 1 and the cover 2 cooperate with each other to define an article receiving space. The body 1 and the cover 2 are provided with two pairs of opening/closing means 3 such as latch/striker mechanism, respectively, which allow the article receiving space to be opened and closed. Each of the body 1 and the cover 2 has a bottom wall 11 which delimits lower and upper ends of the article receiving space and a side wall 12 which delimits front, rear, left and right ends of the article receiving space. Each of the bottom wall 11 and the side wall 12 comprises an inner shell 4 and an outer shell 5 between which a foaming member 6 is intervened for allowing the briefcase to retain its desired rigidity. The inner shell 4 and the outer shell 5 are integrally coupled to each other by sewing means. At a center portion of the body 1, there is disposed an elastic band 8 for holding the article 7 such as notebook computer in position when the article 7 is received in the article receiving space.
The briefcase having shock-absorbing function of the related art further includes a shock-absorbing air pad 9. The shock-absorbing air pad 9 is fitted into the article receiving space such that it is close contacted with an inner surface of the side wall 12 of the body 1. A foaming element 10 is inserted into the shock-absorbing air pad 9, and an air of a predetermined pressure is filled into the shock-absorbing air pad 9. The shock-absorbing air pad 9 functions to surround front, rear, left and right surfaces of the costly article 7 such as notebook computer received in the body 1 thereby to absorb and/or alleviate an impact force applied to the article 7.
However, the briefcase of the related art, constructed as mentioned above, still suffers from defects in that since the shock-absorbing air pad 9 comprises a single integral segment which extends lengthwise to completely surround the front, rear, left and right surfaces of the article 7, it cannot be used to another briefcase having a different size, especially a smaller size. Namely, if the shock-absorbing air pad 9 is used in a briefcase of a smaller size, because portions of the shock-absorbing air pad 9 are overlapped with each other, a volume of the article receiving space is reduced whereby the article 7 cannot be properly received in the article receiving space. Also, since the shock-absorbing air pad 9 does not include any bent portions, an operation for fitting the shock-absorbing air pad 9 into a corner portion of the side wall 12 of the body 1 is much involved and time-consuming. Further, since the briefcase having shock-absorbing function of the related art is so constructed as to absorb only the impact force applied to the side wall 12 of body 1 and/or cover 2, if an impact force is applied to the bottom wall 11 of the body 1 and/or cover 2, the impact force is directly transferred to the article 7 whereby the article 7 may be apt to be broken.